Photo by Rich Renomeron
Good morning, Washington. It’s going to be 60 degrees here today—60! In mid-January! But it’s snowing in New Hampshire, so that statehood lobbying trip is off.
Moving With the Blood Feud: Even having moved half a world away doesn’t cool tensions between long-opposed ethnic groups, the Post reports. Emily Wax finds that Sinhalese and Tamils who have moved to D.C. from their native Sri Lanka are cautious, and sometimes verbally combative, toward each other when crossing paths at local establishments. Same goes for Cypriots and Turks, Ethiopians and Eritreans, Armenians and Turks and, most recently, Sudanese and newly liberated South Sudanese.
Requiem for a Performance Space: At the end of the month, Gold Leaf Studios at 443 I Street NW has to pack it up as its building’s new owners start redeveloping the block for another apartment towner. In the City Paper today, Ryan Little has a history of the venue, which has been a habitat of artists, fashion designers and many, many bands. The DIY space helped keep Mount Vernon Square a little weird for over a decade. Now, Little notes, residency spaces for musicians are at a premium. Keep an eye out for Yglesias’ bowdlerized reading of the story later this week.
Wrong Tax Hike, Carcetti!: In Maryland, Gov. Martin O’Malley floated raising the state sales tax by one cent to help pay for transportation projects. It’s a non-starter with the Maryland State Assembly, WAMU reports. Lawmakers would prefer a proposal earlier this week to raise the tax on gasoline, which local representatives could pay for much-needed improvements to Prince George’s County roadways.
Briefly Noted: NoVa has cool clubs, too … Also has backyard chickens and maybe needs more … Hoagie House sold … City Paper’s guide to self-improvement … Metro changes could be even more severe … Buses hurt a lot of people last year … How Jim Vance turned 70 … Washingtonian loses its shit at Brad and Angie’s movie premiere.
This Day in DCist: In 2011, Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-Texas) proposed letting members of Congress pack heat in the U.S. Capitol, and a nasty Metrobus accident left 10 people injured. In 2010, the Washington National Opera played it safe, and of course that state dinner invite was fake.
